Analysis of Urban Governance and Health Policies - Coursework Example

Addrell Coleman

San Francisco State University

Tony Sparks PhD

USP 0570-01 Urban Health Policy Summer 2020

July 6, 2020

Introduction

The COVID-19 outbreak in the universe has led to financial and economic downfall due to the lockdown imposed in many countries. The discovery of this pandemic in the United States, in particular, has put a significant focus on the social and economic inequalities that have left the majority of the vulnerable groups fragile as they are not able to meet their economic and social needs. This pandemic has made the government impose strict measures, especially in urban centers, to prevent the spread of this disease because these areas have high population density. One such policy is the restriction of movement in major cities across the nation. This final paper will analyze the chosen group that will be most impacted by this policy. The positive and negative impact of the policy implementation and future recommendations will be analyzed. Therefore, through analyzing urban health policies, the state will come up with a restriction of movement recommendations that will aim to reduce the spread of COVID 19 in America and the World.

Historical Background of Urban Governance and Health Policies

Over the years, the government has involved itself in the formulation and implementation of health care policies. The government formulates these policies to act in the best interest of the people. This function is referred to as biopolitics and is a power that exerts a positive influence on life through optimization, administration, multiplication, and precise regulations. The government has partnered with urban planning and public health sectors to recognize that the urban environments are potent determinants of population health and that improving health and equity will eradicate the significant challenges faced in these cities (Corburn, 2009)

In the United States, the urban population is shaped by the changing nature of the economic social and political life (Rosner, 2006). According to this author, the urban centers consist of people from different social, economic, and political classes. In the case of a disease, the individuals will be affected differently depending on their class level in the urban centers. In the middle ages, the relationship between health and urban government addressed questions concerning flow management and strategies to encourage the good and minimize the bad. In the 1600s, the diseases were seen as public issues, and the policies addressed issues like overcrowding and poor diet. The modern governance strategies are based on the infrastructural and built environment, removal/quarantine, and special regulation. Studying the historical development of urban policies will help understand the effectiveness of restriction of movement strategy that the government currently implemented to curb the spread of COVID 19.

Analysis of Intervention Policy

To curb the spread of COVID 19, the government has restricted the movement between major cities and towns. This policy has been implemented to enhance contact tracing of those individuals who have already been exposed to this pandemic. Some major cities such as New York City are significant hotspots for this disease, which has made the government restrict the movement of the individuals. The restrictions are also implemented to restrict the movement of people in congested areas like slums and dwells in the major cities. This policy has also seen the government implement rules such as social distancing to those who need to move from one city to another (Chinazzi, 2020). The implementation of this policy has led to a positive and negative impact on people's social and economic well-being.

Chosen Group Affected by the Policy

The chosen group that has been adversely affected by the restriction of movement in urban areas is Black Americans. At the start of the COVID 19 pandemic, the New York Governor Andrew Cuomo stated that the pandemic would be a great equalizer. However, the pandemic has proved to be discriminatory and has affected African American people more than other racial groups in the country. According to the statistics provided by the department of health and human services, African-Americans account for 42% of the deaths related to COVID 19. In some cities such as Louisiana and Mississippi, the African Americans who have succumbed to this disease stands at 65% (Laurencin, 2020). This group has become vulnerable to COVID 19 due to the following reasons.

• African Americans are more likely to be exposed to COVID 19

SARS-COV-2, which is a virus that causes COVID 19, is highly contagious. The government's decision to restrict movement and limit person-person transmission has not helped curb the spread of this disease among African Americans. This group consists of people that make up a critical workforce in the US. For example, the Department of Homeland Security, which consists of many Black Americans, must continue to work. Black Americans also work as caregivers, farmworkers, and public transit employees. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30% of African Americans work in the education and health sector, while 10% work in the retail industry. Since their labor is critical, they have higher chances of being exposed to COVID-19. They are also risking higher exposure to COVID-19 because of legal segregation in schools, housing, and discrimination in the labor market.

• This group is vulnerable because it has less access to medical care and often distrusts the caregivers.

Inequalities in healthcare access, which involve aspects such as inadequate health insurance, discrimination fears, and distance from the health facilities, have made it difficult for African Americans to access equality health facilities. Besides, this group is vulnerable because most of the African Americans are uninsured than white Americans. According to the statistics provided by the census 2019, 20% of African Americans live in poverty as compared with 10% of the white Americans. Therefore, this means that they cannot afford Medicaid and other insurance services, making them vulnerable to COVID 19 compared to the well-to-do families (Evelyn, 2020). The government's decision to restrict movement will prevent these people from surviving the pandemic as it will make it difficult for them to get medication.

• This group has a higher incidence of underlying health conditions.

African Americans have a higher risk of getting COVID-19 because they have serious health problems such as hypertension, heart diseases, and diabetes. According to the American Heart Association, over 40% of African Americans have high blood pressure, which is among the World's highest rates (Gupta, 2020). The exposure of African- Americans to air pollution has also increased the development of health problems such as asthma, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases. African American neighborhoods have high levels of lead, air pollution, and violence compared to white neighborhoods. The neighborhood stressors have contributed to poor health, and this has led to a higher spread of infection to people in this group.

Positive Impact of the Policy

• The vulnerable groups have been protected from the contraction of the disease.

The restriction of movement policy has much helped in reducing the exposure of vulnerable groups to COVID 19. Restricting movement has ensured that there is limited interaction of people, which has played a role in curbing the spread of this infection. By managing people's movement, African Americans stay in their homes and become safe for contracting the disease. This has, therefore, helped in reducing the spread of this infection in the urban centers.

• The restriction of movement has enhanced innovations to stay connected and help each other. People have come up with ideas, hacks, tips, and tricks to beat the challenges faced by the implementation of this policy through movement restriction. People have come up with digital communication platforms such as Zoom. This has enhanced the interaction of people in urban centers. The people are also able to spend more time with their families due to movement restrictions.
• Has enhanced more natural tracing of COVID-19 Cases in the urban centers.

Restricting the movement of people means that a group of people can be easily tracked and monitored. Through this policy, the government can collect accurate data on the number of people infected by the disease, their accurate location, and those who have been exposed to it. Since the target group cannot travel to other areas, the government can isolate and offer medical assistance to the traced individuals in collaboration with other health facilities.

Negative Impacts of the Policy

• Restricting movement has led to harsh economic conditions as people cannot carry out their normal activities.

The new policy restricting the movement of people means that people cannot carry out their daily businesses. The retail, recreation, groceries, and other business entities have shut down due to the restricted movement of people. Most of these entities are owned by the vulnerable group defined above. Through the restrictions, people have recorded reduced sales leading to lower-income. Therefore, this policy led to harsh economic conditions that are unbearable by the African American people in urban centers.

• Unequal treatment of people who violate the implemented policy.

The implementation of this policy has seen the unfair treatment of people who violate the movement restriction policy (Van Dorn et al., 2020). The police officers have become violent, and most officers use force when dealing with people who have violated the law. African Americans are the most affected group when it comes to police brutality. This has led to the death of innocent people due to racial discrimination when enforcing the law. Other types of inequalities include a lack of equal supply of medical services and equipment such as personal protection equipment, masks, and sanitizers. African Americans are discriminated against, and most do not access these services, which makes them prone to contracting the disease.

Future Policy and Research Recommendations

• Review of the health policy to consider the needs of the vulnerable people in urban centers. The government should do this by providing appropriate and affordable care to those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The essential health and social services should be provided to the vulnerable populations and the frontline workers who mainly consist of African American people.
• Next, the movement should control sporadic cases and clusters in urban areas. After restricting movement, it should rapidly find and isolate all cases of COVID 19. The patients should be provided with appropriate care, tracing, quarantine, and supporting all contacts in the urban areas. This will work towards protecting the vulnerable groups from this pandemic. The future policy should, therefore, aim at isolating and caring for patients affected by this pandemic.
• Besides, the policymakers should mobilize all the communities and sectors in the urban areas to ensure that each sector of government and society participates and takes ownership in preventing the spread of COVID-19 by enhancing movement restrictions. For example, the police department will help carry out patrols to ensure that people do not move without proper adherence to COVID-19 movement restriction guidelines. The Non-Governmental Organizations can also be involved in this case to sensitize the public on the importance of staying at home to curb this infection.
• Moreover, the government needs to develop safe and effective urban research centers that will help develop vaccines and therapeutics. The experts in these centers will have to use the available technology and innovation strategies to develop medicines and vaccines that will curb this infection. This will ensure that as people adhere to the restriction of movement rules, they will get high-quality vaccines and medicine if they contract this infection.
• Lastly, the policy of restriction of movement can be made active if the government sets aside financial and budgetary allocations to people staying at home. As seen from the research above, the vulnerable group does not have adequate resources to meet their basic needs. The restriction of movement has also made it difficult for individuals to access their source of livelihood. If the government sets up a financial kitty to provide the basic needs to the people who have been adversely affected by this pandemic, there are higher chances of implementing this policy.

Conclusion

In conclusion, COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected people's social and economic well-being in urban areas. In collaboration with other stakeholders, the government has set out policies to curb the spread of this disease. One such policy is the restriction of movement in urban areas. Through this policy, people are not expected to move unless they are offering essential services. A key group that has been affected by this policy are the African American people who do not have access to healthcare facilities, are highly exposed to the disease and have a higher number of underlying risk infections. The implementation of this policy has positively affected the urban population because it has enhanced innovation, more natural tracking, and protection of vulnerable groups from contracting the infection. The negative impact includes harsh economic conditions and inequalities in the treatment of people. Therefore, the government and other policymakers need to come up with recommendations such as reviewing the healthcare policies, mobilizing all communities, and establishing COVID-19 research centers. This will ensure that the individuals in the urban areas are protected from the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.